


The A Team

by My_Coffee_Is_Hot_Chocolate



Series: Songfics for Ships [1]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Buttons and Mush are brothers, Drug Use, Heroin, M/M, Prostitution, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 15:32:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14115408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Coffee_Is_Hot_Chocolate/pseuds/My_Coffee_Is_Hot_Chocolate
Summary: Mush dealt with a lot from Buttons' heroin addiction.The song fit too well.





	The A Team

_White lips, pale face_  
Breathing in snowflakes  
Burnt lungs, sour taste  
Light's gone, day's end  
Struggling to pay rent  
Long nights, strange men 

Mush was frantically searching for his brother in the late October streets of New York. He’d been gone for three days, it was getting cold and dark again and it was going to be the coldest night yet. 

Buttons had a issue, but this was the first time in months he had been gone this long. Of course with all the shit with Snyder and Spot, Buttons on heroin would be a great addition.

_And they say_  
He's in the Class A Team  
He's stuck in his daydream  
Been this way since thirteen  
But lately his face seems  
Slowly sinking, wasting  
Crumbling like pastries 

 

Mush couldn't remember when he first saw the signs, but he remembers what they were clear as day. It had taken him months to realize that his little brother was using heroin. 

_And they scream_

Mush remembered yelling at his 13 year old brother be who was trapped in a hell on Earth with no sister, soon no brother, and no idea what to do. All alone for the first time in his life.

_The worst things in life come free to us_  
'Cause he's just under the upper-hand  
And goes mad for a couple of grams  
And he don't want to go outside tonight 

He had to find Buttons. And soon, the air is getting colder as the wind from the sea chills Manhattan island. 

_'Cause in a pipe he flies to the Motherland_  
And sells love to another man  
It's too cold outside  
For angels to fly  
Angels to fly 

How did he even know it was heroin this time? It could be crack, it could be pot, it could be morphine, it could be the latest street drug.

_Ripped gloves, raincoat_  
Tried to swim and stay afloat  
Dry house, wet clothes 

He had inherited a high chance of addiction from their mother. Mush remembered him being treated from a morphine addiction because their mother had been using it while she was pregnant with him.

And there the idiot was. Down an alley, shivering with a syringe by his side and 40 bucks clutched in his hand.

_Loose change, bank notes_  
Weary-eyed, dry throat  
Call boy, no phone 

“Why the hell didn't you call?!”

“I left my phone at home.”

Buttons looks so tired. Mush helps him up, noticing he has a slight limp. Mush's eyes search for other signs, ones he knew too well. 

Buttons had been selling himself for money to buy drugs. Just like their mother.

_And they say,_  
He's in the Class A Team  
He's stuck in her daydream  
Been this way since thirteen  
But lately his face seems  
Slowly sinking, wasting  
Crumbling like pastries 

Buttons’ face was pinched, he didn't look like he’s eaten in a while. Just like before.

_And they scream_

Mush slammed the door of his empty apartment closed. He turned on Buttons. “What the hell Benny?!”

Buttons looked down. “I'm sorry Nate.”

“Sorry doesn't cut it! Jesus, you’re turning into Mom!”

_The worst things in life come free to us_  
'Cause he's just under the upper-hand  
And goes mad for a couple of grams  
But he don't want to go outside tonight 

Buttons was locked in the bathroom, until the drugs got out of his system and the cravings subsided. But it broke his heart to hear his little brother cry like that.

_'Cause in a pipe he flies to the Motherland_  
And sells love to another man  
It's too cold outside  
For angels to fly  
Now angel will die  
Covered in white, closed eye  
And hoping for a better life  
This time, now we'll fade out tonight  
Straight down the line  
Straight down the line 

It took two days.  
Two days Mush was listening to his brother cry in pain or demand to be let out. Thank God Spot was out of town and Buttons could pull himself together to talk to Spot.

_And they say_  
He's in the Class A Team  
He's stuck in his daydream  
Been this way since thirteen  
But lately his face seems  
Slowly sinking, wasting  
Crumbling like pastries 

Holding a trembling Buttons as he cried was never fun. But Mush had to hold him firm to keep him from running out the door. Running back to the streets and drugs.

_They scream_  
The worst things in life come free to us  
And we're all under the upper-hand  
Go mad for a couple of grams  
And we don't want to go outside tonight  
'Cause in a pipe we fly to the Motherland  
And sell love to another man. 

It had been months.

Mush couldn't help but wonder if the 'payment’ Morris had mentioned when discussing Buttons with Oscar had to do with his brother selling himself again. 

Of course when Buttons had told Spot he was an addict, he escaped into the streets. Maybe Spot was feeling the worry Buttons felt when he had been out drinking.

_It's too cold outside_  
For angels to fly  
Angels to fly, fly, fly  
Angels to fly, to fly, to fly  
Angels to die 

And now his baby brother is lying in a blanket, begging for Spot. And Spot is drunk and Buttons’ nerves are shot from the heroin.

_To die...._


End file.
